Cebu City Race : Tomas Osmeña proclaimed mayor

CEBU CITY — "Come—backing" former mayor Tomas Osmeña was proclaimed at exactly 10:30 p.m. Saturday winner in the most tightly fought mayoral race Cebu City has seen in more than a decade.

The board of canvassers made the proclamation with election results from eight precincts still uncanvassed when it became statistically improbable for the lead of Osmeña over re-electionist Mayor Alvin Garcia to be overhauled.

When he was proclaimed, Osmeña was ahead by 3,030 votes, having garnered 128,724 votes versus Garcia’s 125,694, from 1,976 out of the city’s 1,984 precincts.

Garcia’s supporters protested the proclamation and later massed outside the city health office’s building where the canvassing was held, and pelted winning BO-PK candidates and supporters with empty bottles of water as they tried to make their way out of the compound, under heavy police escorts, after the proclamation.

A beaming Osmeña went up the stage at the health office’s auditorium with his wife Margot, son Miguel, and sister Minnie to be proclaimed. They were all clad in bright yellow.

Just before his arms were raised in victory, Osmeña gave a glimpse of what his first order of business would be upon assuming office.

"I will give the salaries of city employees on time. But those who are lazy and tardy, I will fire them. I will clean them out," Osmeña said.

Asked what will happen to diehard supporters of Garcia employed at City Hall, Osmeña said: "They better start looking for jobs now."

Proclaimed minutes ahead of Osmeña were his vice mayoral running mate, Michael Rama, and 11 from his slate for the city council — Gabriel Leyson, Nestor Archival Sr., Manuel Legaspi, Christopher Alix, Sylvan Jakosalem for the north district, and George Rama, Eleno Abellana, Jocelyn Pesquera, Arsenio Pacana, Gerardo Carillo and Procopio Fernandez for the south district.

Proclaimed along with them were two of the five winning candidates of Garcia’s Kusug party — Danilo Fernan and Carmelita Piramide. The three others — Firmo Dayao, Eugenio Gabuya Jr. and Dana Ruiz Sesante — were not present and failed to be proclaimed.

Also proclaimed were the city’s winning congressional candidates — Raul del Mar for the north district and Antonio Cuenco for the south district.

Reporters immediately tried to contact Garcia through his cell phone but it was off, and members of his household said he was out.

It was only about an hour later that he was seen inside the barangay hall of Carreta with his wife Ninette, sister-in-law Armi and some sympathetic barangay captains.

Garcia had a bottle of beer in his hand and refused to be interviewed.

He told some supporters who were milling around not to be dismayed, saying he did not lose, and that he would call on them to a sort of "miting de avance" on Wednesday at the Cebu City Sports Center.

The Garcia camp, early in the canvass, had accused Osmeña and his BO-PK party of massive fraud.

The Carreta barangay hall is just next to the city health office’s compound but Garcia made no effort to calm down his angry crowd of supporters. — Freeman News Service